Students forced to complete a long sequence of remedial or
English language classes before they can begin their
postsecondary program rarely earn college certificates or
degrees.1 This brief highlights six promising programs that
show how career pathway bridges help lower-skilled students
move farther and faster along college and career paths through
dual enrollment in linked basic skills and occupational
certificate courses. Because creating such bridges requires
collaboration across college silos, they can also transform the
way colleges operate.
The author would like to thank the many
individuals from several states for participating
in interviews, providing local materials, and
reviewing drafts; including Luzelma Canales,
Mary Jo Gardner, Diana Glosser, Sue Groth,
Mark Johnson, Jon Kerr, Judy Mortrude, Andrew
Roessler, Sara Treadway, and Heide Wrigley.
Career pathways provide a framework for mapping education and job opportunities in an industry or occupational
cluster. They offer a series of education and training programs and support services that enable individuals to get
jobs in specific industries and advance over time by successfully completing higher levels of education and work.2
Career pathways provide a way for colleges to give students more clarity and structure in occupational programs.
Research on community college students finds that many are bewildered by the complexity of choices they face in
postsecondary education.3 This may be one reason for the rising popularity of for-profit institutions, which often
offer transparent packages of courses for specific career goal.
―Career pathway bridges,‖ a term coined by Wisconsin’s technical colleges, are an extension of the career
pathways concept, but are designed specifically to meet the needs of lower-skilled adults and youth. These bridges
provide targeted basic skills or English language help to lower-skilled students to enable them to enter and succeed
in career pathways. While there are many variations of career pathways bridge models, they share some common
elements. Career pathway bridges typically:
Combine basic skills and career-technical content, including general workforce readiness skills, precollege academic and English language skills, and specific occupational knowledge and skills, supported by
comprehensive student services.
Contextualize basic skills and English language content to the knowledge and skills needed in specific
occupations.
Use new or modified curricula with identified learning targets for both the academic and occupational
content, articulated to the next level in the college and career pathway.
Change how classes are delivered, using such strategies as dual enrollment in linked basic skills and
occupational courses; integrated, team-taught basic skills and occupational courses; and, enrolling students
in cohorts (also known as learning communities or managed enrollment).
Support student success through comprehensive student services, often including a point of contact who
helps students navigate through college advising and financial aid services, connects students to other
public benefits, and works with students to problem solve as challenges arise that could derail progress.
Connect to local employer and community needs by engaging key partners in design and implementation
of bridges, such as employers, unions, workforce development boards, community-based organizations and
foundations.
Career pathway bridges are a relatively new approach to basic skills and career-technical education. Consequently,
little independent research has been conducted on their effectiveness, though local programs report promising early
results. The most rigorous research to date is a 2010 study by Columbia University on the effectiveness of
Washington State’s I-BEST program, which pairs basic skills and career-technical instructors in the same
classroom to teach integrated occupational certificate and basic skills content. The study finds that I-BEST
students are 56 percent more likely than regular adult basic education and ESL students to earn college credit, 26
percent more likely to earn a certificate or degree, and 19 percent more likely to achieve learning gains on basic
skills tests—or more simply, as Washington puts it, I-BEST moves students ―farther and faster.‖4
In addition to the I-BEST study,
considerable research exists on individual
elements of bridge programs, such as dual
enrollment, contextualization, enhanced
student services, and learning communities.5
This research suggests that these can be
effective strategies for improving student
completion of basic skills coursework and
for increasing enrollment in and completion
of college-level courses. While the impact of
any one of these strategies alone is often
modest, the I-BEST experience lends weight
to the idea that such strategies may have
more impact when combined, as they are in
career pathway bridges.
Basic skills students at all levels can benefit
from career pathway bridges, as illustrated in
Minnesota’s vision for its FastTRAC
initiative (see Figure 1). At the lower levels of adult basic education and English language instruction, career
pathway bridges (sometimes called ―pre-bridges‖) tend to focus initially on career exploration and planning or on
introducing students to broad concepts, vocabulary, and career opportunities in a specific sector. For example, a
health care pre-bridge might include medical terminology and visits to health care workplaces to learn about the
range of job opportunities in that sector. These types of pre-bridges tend to be delivered solely by basic skills
instructors, either within adult basic education (ABE) or developmental education. Higher levels of career pathway
bridges are typically more narrowly focused because their goal is to help students prepare for and succeed in
specific occupational certificate programs within a career pathway. These bridges are typically jointly planned and
delivered by basic skills and career-technical education (CTE) instructors. (For more on adult basic education,
Figure 1. Minnesota FastTRAC Model
Source: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Minnesota Department of Employment
and Economic Development, and Minnesota Department of Education
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developmental education, bridge programs and other basic skills innovations, see CLASP March 2011 report,
Beyond Basic Skills: State Strategies to Connect Low-Skilled Students to an Employer-Valued Postsecondary
Education.)
Standardized test scores are commonly used to determine which students can be served at what level in career
pathway bridge programs. However, other factors can be equally or more important in predicting student success,
such as personal motivation, financial stability, social supports, a sense of career direction, and work experience
relevant to the occupational program.
Dual enrollment career pathway bridges enable basic skills students to begin earning a postsecondary occupational
credential right away, without having to first complete a sequence of adult basic education, English language, and
developmental education services. Like dual enrollment options for high school students, students enrolled in these
bridge programs work to master pre-college reading, writing, math or English language skills while also beginning
their postsecondary program coursework. Dual enrollment career pathway bridges offer two key advantages over
traditional, sequential approaches to remediation:
Students can immediately see how their basic skills class work will help them succeed in their
postsecondary programs and, ultimately, in their careers. The basic skills curriculum is contextualized
to the occupational content covered in the postsecondary coursework. Often students use the same technical
textbooks and technical manuals with the basic skills instructor as they use with the CTE instructor.
Students can enter a program of study from the very beginning of their postsecondary experience
while still receiving support to improve their basic skills. New research shows that the sooner students
enter a program of study, the more likely it is that they will complete a certificate or degree or transfer to a
four-year institution. Specifically, research found that students who entered a program of study in their first
or second term were twice as successful in completing a certificate, an associate degree, or transferring as
students who did not enter a program of study until their second year.6
There are two main types of dual enrollment career pathway bridge models. Under one approach, students dually
enroll in closely linked, separately taught, basic skills and occupational certificate courses. In the other approach,
basic skills content is integrated directly into an occupational certificate course, which is team taught by basic
skills and CTE instructors. To be successful, both approaches require joint planning and ongoing, close
coordination between the basic skills and CTE instructors. This allows the basic skills content to be contextualized
to the occupational field and concepts to be taught in a sequence and manner that reinforce both basic skills and
CTE learning targets. It is important to note that students in these kinds of dual enrollment models must meet the
same standards for adult basic education learning outcomes and for CTE education outcomes as other ABE and
CTE students.
Whether colleges use the paired course approach or the integrated course approach, they typically enroll students
in cohorts and work to connect students to comprehensive services, such as financial aid, academic advising, and
other supports. In practice, these two approaches are sometimes combined. For example, in many of the I-BEST
programs in Washington State, the integrated I-BEST course is paired with a linked, contextualized basic skills
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support course that provides additional help to lower-skilled or limited English proficient students.
Dual enrollment career pathway bridges are usually targeted to students with basic skills at roughly the 6th grade
level or higher and ESL students at level three and higher. Some of these bridges require students to have a high
school diploma or GED; others do not. Bridges that require a high school credential often do so because employers
in a particular industry such as health care require one. Some other industries, such as construction and
manufacturing, are more flexible. Even if not required, these models generally support students to earn a high
school credential along the way if that is their goal.
Students dually enroll in closely linked, paired basic
skills and occupational certificate courses. Basic
skills course content is contextualized to the
occupational course material.
Students enroll in courses that integrate occupational
certificate course content with basic skills content.
Students sometimes also dually enroll in a basic
skills support class whose content is contextualized
to the integrated course.
• South Texas College, McAllen
• Lake Land College, Mattoon, Illinois
• Portland Community College, Oregon
• Lower Columbia College, Longview, Washington
• Western Technical College, La Crosse, Wisconsin
• Saint Paul Public Schools ABE/Hubbs Adult
Learning Center, Ramsey County WIB, and St.
Paul College, Minnesota
Some examples of these two approaches to career pathway bridges appear below. Many other examples can be
found elsewhere, such as in resources from the Breaking Through, Shifting Gears, and California Basic Skills
initiatives or in resources from states with extensive career pathway bridge efforts, such as Illinois, Minnesota,
Washington and Wisconsin. (See the Appendix for more information.)
South Texas College offers basic skills students the opportunity to earn college credits and occupational
certificates through dual enrollment in contextualized English language and math classes, technical Spanish classes
(which cover occupational knowledge and vocabulary in the students’ native language), and college-level
occupational courses. Through this dual language bridge model, basic skills students without a high school
diploma or GED can complete three occupational courses in the Green Construction pathways (which include
HVAC/Refrigeration, Plumbing, and Electrical). While the initial classes in the "on ramp" portion of these
pathways are noncredit, students automatically receive
―I never thought I would come to school. I thought it
transcripted college credit for them upon enrolling in the next
was too late. I didn’t think there was an opportunity for
level up in the pathway (see Figure 2). In addition, when credit
somebody without a GED to get back into college.‖
for the initial courses has been awarded, students without a
GED can qualify for federal student aid through the new option
- Cassandra Robles, Student, South Texas College
of demonstrating "Ability to Benefit" on successful completion
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of six credits rather than through passing Ability to Benefit test (see Figure 3).7
For students who have a GED or high school diploma, the college has a fourth dual language pathway in health
care. Students move through all of these pathways in cohorts and, as they move into higher level courses in each
pathway, students also take a college success course. Recruitment for the bridges and support services for students
are coordinated by VIDA, a community-based workforce development group. The program also includes a
partnership with the local workforce board which, together with VIDA, pays the cost of tuition and fees along with
other support services such as childcare, textbooks, and gas vouchers. Though these bridges are relatively new,
student retention in the initial cohorts has been very high and the college hopes to expand this bridge model to
other occupational programs in the future.
Figure 2. South Texas College Accelerated Electrician Career
Pathway (for students with a high school diploma or GED)
Source: South Texas College
Figure 3. South Texas College Accelerated Electrician Career
Pathway (for students without a high school diploma or GED,
using Ability to Benefit option)
Source: South Texas College
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In the fall of 2010, Lake Land College launched a
Transportation Bridge Course which helps students
who test into developmental reading and writing
succeed in for-credit, transportation certificate
programs at the college. Students dual enroll in this
bridge course and in one of the transportation CTE
programs: Automotive Technology, Automotive
Mechanic, or the John Deere Technology program.
Most of the students in the bridge to date have
enrolled in the John Deere program, which also
places students in paid internships with Deere
dealerships. To create the bridge, Lake Land kept the
learning targets for the regular developmental reading
course but contextualized the curriculum to the
content taught in the paired CTE courses, often using
actual technical materials from the CTE courses like
the John Deere manual. The bridge course includes
an introduction to the auto technology workplace,
technical reading applications, Automotive Service
Excellence (ASE) certification reading requirement
goals, and the use of work-based scenarios to practice
appropriate listening, reading and communication
skills. Students in the course also explore various
educational options from certificate to AAS degree
and beyond and are assigned a Project Mentor, with
whom they are required to meet throughout the
course to support their success.
The bridge begins with an intensive four full days of
contextualized, developmental reading instruction
prior to the start of the semester. After the semester
begins, this class continues to meet every other week.
In addition, the fall 2010 bridge course students
voluntarily decided to hold study sessions every day
as a group, coming to the college an hour before
regular classes begin to do so. Students enter the
course with reading and writing skills at the 7th or 8th
grade level; the goal is to raise those skills to at least
"The classes are a lot of fun. They’re really technical
and hands-on, which is how I like to learn.‖
- Chad Blaney, Student, Transportation Bridge
Course, Lake Land College in a student
testimonial for the Shifting Gears initiative.
―If I had come into this class and they had made me
read stuff I wasn’t interested in, I would have
dropped out.‖
-James Schoonover, Student, Transportation
Bridge Course, Lake Land College
Students in the Transportation Bridge Course at Lake Land College.
the 10th grade level by the time they finish the course.
The entire fall 2010 bridge cohort passed the course
with a C or better. Other occupational programs at
Lake Land have been so impressed with the
transportation bridge that they are asking for their
own bridge courses. The college is developing six
additional bridges to start in the fall of 2011. Lake
Land’s bridge efforts are supported by the Illinois
Shifting Gears initiative, which has led to more than
30 adult basic education bridge programs across the
state and is currently piloting six developmental
education-CTE bridges.
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Since 2009, Portland Community College (PCC) in Oregon has offered English language learners the opportunity
to earn college credits and an occupational certificate through dual enrollment in contextualized English language
classes and college-level career pathways certificate courses. Currently ESL students with a high school diploma
(from either the United States or their home country) or GED can earn a Basic Computer Applications certificate
(called CASOL, carrying 13 quarter credits)
Figure 4. Course Design for the Portland Community College CASOL Program
or an Entry-Level Accounting Clerk
Source: Portland Community College
certificate (called VELAC, carrying 14 quarter
credits). Each certificate is embedded within a
full career pathway at the college.
Students move through these courses in
cohorts over three quarters and, as part of the
program, work in internships in their fields.
A coordinator acts as a liaison between the
different parts of the college involved in these
career pathway bridges and supports student
success in a variety of ways. Students also
receive help with college and career planning.
PCC plans to expand these dual enrollment
ESL/career pathway certificate options, and is
exploring which of its more than 30 existing
career pathways certificates can be best
adapted to the model. (Oregon’s statewide
Career Pathways Initiative supports
development of local pathways in a variety of
ways.8) Though it has sometimes proved
challenging to retain the same students for all
three quarters, about two-thirds of CASOL
students typically complete the program while
the newer VELAC pathway has so far
retained about 80 percent of its students
through the first two terms.
―I’m so happy I chose the Career
Pathway Program, Office Skills
Training. It is a unique opportunity for
non-native speakers to realize their
educational goals. In this program I
earned a certificate. . . Also, I
improved my English skills at the same
time.‖
-Mila Russell, Student, Portland
Community College CASOL Program
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As noted earlier, Washington State’s I-BEST
instructional model has a proven track record of
helping students increase their basic and English
language skills and earn college credits and credentials
at much higher rates than similar students in traditional
education courses (see page 2). There are currently
about 2,900 I-BEST students and more than 140
approved programs statewide. At Lower Columbia
College, students can choose from among five I-BEST
occupational options and a new I-TRANS (Integrated
Transitional Studies or Academic I-BEST) program,
which applies the I-BEST model to integration of
ABE, Developmental Education and college-level
academic classes. An example of the original,
occupational I-BEST model is the four-quarter I-BEST
Business Technology–Administrative Support
program, which includes two stackable certificates
carrying 48 college-level, quarter credits. The
certificates prepare students for careers as
administrative support professionals in a variety of
business and medical offices. Students also have the
option of taking an additional 11 credits to earn the
Medical Reception certificate. All credits for the
certificates in Business-Technology-Administrative
Support apply to the AAS degree. Students completing
the initial two certificates have only an additional 31
credits to earn to complete their two-year degree in
Administrative Support or an additional 39 credits to
earn their AAS in Medical Administrative Support.
Lower Columbia also has I-BEST programs in early
childhood education, manufacturing, and health care.
Figure 5. I-BEST Marketing Materials
Source: Lower Columbia College
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Western Technical College in La Crosse, Wisconsin, offers
three technical certificates in Computer Numeric Control
(CNC) Machining operation, setup and programming, each
carrying six college-level, semester credits (18 credits total)
and all embedded within a one-year technical diploma in
CNC/Machine Tool Operation, which is part of an applied
associate degree program. Basic skills students can earn those
first three certificates in the career pathway through integrated
bridge courses that combine technical content with pre-college
math, reading, and study skills. Some of these classes feature
Students at Western Technical College
team teaching of the integrated courses, with additional basic
skills instruction supplementing it; other classes are paired with
a contextualized basic skills support course. According to a case study of the program by the Center on Wisconsin
Strategy, though the program was originally designed for the Hmong population, Western has found that other,
non-ESL students such as dislocated and incumbent workers can also benefit from the integrated courses.9
Retention and completion has been very high in the initial cohorts. The curriculum for this bridge, as well as for
two other bridges created through Wisconsin’s statewide career pathways initiative, are publically available.10
There are now 44 RISE career pathway bridge programs across Wisconsin, with 12 of the state’s 16 technical
colleges offering such bridges.
WTC CNC Machinist Bridge
CNC Operator Certificate
ABE Math (CNC Pathway) NRS 5 (2 Credits)
ABE Reading and Study Skills (1 Credit)
integrated and/or paired with-Manufacturing Math 1 (1 Credit)
Blueprint Reading (1 Credit)
Measurement and Inspection (1 Credit)
Introduction to Machining (1 Credit)
CNC Production Lathe: Operation (1 Credit)
CNC Production Mill: Operation (1 Credit)
Figure 6. CNC Machinist Career Pathway at Western
Technical College
Source: Western Technical College
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In Ramsey County, the Medical Careers Pathway is offered through a partnership of Ramsey County Workforce
Investment Board, healthcare employers (led by HealthPartners), Saint Paul College, Saint Paul Public Schools
ABE/Hubbs Center and Goodwill/Easter Seals. Partners also include Saint Paul Public Housing and additional
workforce partners. Students in this program earn a for-credit Medical Records Clerk certificate which applies to
the Medical Coding certificate. The integrated basic skills and technical content are team-taught by ABE and
college CTE faculty, and a pre-program bridge course prepares ABE/ESL students to succeed in the integrated
courses. The ABE instructor supports student success with additional reinforcement of technical content and
contextualized basic skills in additional class time, beyond that of the integrated course. The bridge also includes
computer literacy. The Central Point of Contact, based out of Goodwill/Easter Seals, provides career exploration
and intensive student support. Participants are a diverse mix of ABE and ESL students, dislocated workers and
incumbent workers. Health care employers are actively involved by providing work experiences and collaborating
with the education partners to expand the pathway to meet other workforce shortages they face. Early outcomes are
promising: of the 11 ABE students who transitioned from the pre-program bridge to the Medical Terminology
integrated course, nine passed with a 3.0 GPA or higher and will continue their career pathway education next
semester.
Figure 7. FastTRAC Medical Office Career Pathway Program Model
Source: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development, and Minnesota Department of Education
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When career pathway bridges use dual enrollment and link basic skills and CTE curriculum and learning
outcomes, they transform the way community colleges operate. This occurs because these bridges:
Engage instructors and administrators from basic skills (both ABE/ESL and developmental education),
CTE, and student services in joint efforts to continually align bridge curriculum, instruction, and support
services behind student success.
Bring basic skills students into the mainstream of colleges in a way that makes them visible and valued
as contributors to overall college success.
At minimum, career pathways bridges should create shorter, more relevant paths to credentials that matter in the
local economy. Local flexibility to craft the right bridge approach is critical, as are some state parameters, based on
the best available research about what works.
At their best, basic skills bridges can transform institutions. But how can a state or college know if its career
pathways bridge efforts will lead to wider change? Answering the following four questions can help guide states
and institutions to the right choices in bridge policy and practice. Is your career pathways bridge designed to:
Change students’ perceptions of their own possibilities and
abilities?
Change faculty and staff perceptions—from across basic
skills, CTE, and student services—of basic skills students,
each other, and each of their roles in helping students
succeed?
Build relationships among students, between students and
faculty/staff, and among faculty/staff from different parts of
college?
Show in measureable ways how it contributes to the success
of each of the partners and the college overall?
―The team-taught CNC operator certificate
has not only benefitted students by giving
access to training for those who might not
have had it before, but it has also benefitted
our staff by building new relationships
between occupational faculty and basic skills
faculty.‖
- Chad Dull, Dean of Instructional
Support Services, Western Technical
College, in Building Bridges in Wisconsin:
Connecting Working Adults with College
Credentials and Career Advancement,
Center on Wisconsin Strategy, 2010
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Breaking Through is a national initiative that promotes and strengthens the efforts of 41 community colleges in 22
states to help low-skilled adults prepare for and succeed in occupational and technical degree programs.
http://www.jff.org/projects/current/workforce/breaking-through/20
Shifting Gears is a regional initiative of the Joyce Foundation that has helps Midwest states re-engineer adult
education, workforce development and postsecondary education policies to support economic growth and expand
job opportunities for low-skilled workers in the Midwest. http://www.shifting-gears.org
The Basic Skills Initiative was a grant funded initiative from the California Community Colleges Chancellor's
Office (CCCCO) from 2006 to 2009. The initiative engaged in widespread dissemination of information on
effective basic skills practices, professional development to allow colleges to examine their existing basic skills
and ESL efforts and determine how to improve them, and grants to colleges to support new approaches.
http://www.cccbsi.org
Illinois supports basic skills innovation in adult education and developmental education programs in many ways,
including by participating in Shifting Gears and in a new national initiative, Accelerating Opportunity. Illinois
Shifting Gears resources can be found www.shifting-gears.org. Illinois Accelerating Opportunity resources can be
found at http://www.iccb.state.il.us/abe.to.credentials.html.
Minnesota’s FastTRAC, part of the Shifting Gears initiative, is working to provide greater opportunities for lowskilled adults to increase their basic and occupational skills and to acquire credentials that lead to familysupporting employment. Resources from FastTRAC are available on the state’s website
http://www.fasttrack.project.mnscu.edu and on the Shifting Gears website, www.shifting-gears.org.
Washington’s I-BEST initiative, which pairs basic skills and career-technical instructors in the same classroom to
teach integrated occupational certificate and basic skills content, posts many resources for policymakers and
practitioners; see http://www.sbctc.ctc.edu/college/e_integratedbasiceducationandskillstraining.aspx and
http://flightline.highline.edu/ibest/index.php for more information.
Wisconsin’s RISE initiative, part of Shifting Gears, works to increase the number of low skill adults who earn
postsecondary credentials related to high-demand jobs, primarily by developing career pathways, including basic
skills bridge programs, throughout the state’s technical college system. Resources on basic skills innovation in
RISE can be found at http://www.cows.org/pdf/rp-buildingbridges.pdf, http://risepartnership.org/default.htm, and
on the Shifting Gears website, www.shifting-gears.org
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1
For a review of this research, see: Beyond Basic Skills, Center for Law and Social Policy, March 2011,
http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Beyond-Basic-Skills-March-2011.pdf.
2
Davis Jenkins, Career Pathways: Aligning Public Resources to Support Individual and Regional Economic Advancement in the Knowledge Economy,
Workforce Strategy Center, August 2006, http://www.workforcestrategy.org/images/pdfs/publications/WSC_pathways8.17.06.pdf.
3
Judith Scott-Clayton, The Shapeless River: Does a Lack of Structure Inhibit Students’ Progress at Community Colleges?, Community College
Research Center, Columbia University, January 2011, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=839.
4
Matthew Zeidenberg, Sung-Woo Cho, and Davis Jenkins, Washington State's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST): New
Evidence of Effectiveness (CCRC Working Paper No. 20), Community College Research Center, 2010,
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=805.
5
See the body of research on this summarized in Beyond Basic Skills. See also W. Charles Wiseley, Ed.D, Effective Basic Skills Instruction: The Case
for Contextualized Developmental Math, PACE Brief 11-1, Stanford University, January 2011; and the eight papers in the Community College Research
Center’s Assessment of Evidence series, listed in Introduction to the CCRC Assessment of Evidence Series, Thomas Bailey, Shanna Smith Jaggars, and
Davis Jenkins, CCRC, Columbia University, January 2011.
6
Davis Jenkins, Get with the Program: Accelerating Community College Students’ Entry into and Completion of Programs of Study, Community
College Research Center, Columbia University, April 2011, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=885.
7
For more information on how students without a high school diploma or GED can qualify for federal financial aid, see: New Path to Student Aid for
Those with No High School Diploma or GED, Center for Law and Social Policy, 2011, http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/Ability-toBenefit-Final.pdf.
8
For more information about Oregon’s statewide Career Pathways Initiative, visit: www.pcc.edu/cp.
9
http://www.cows.org/pdf/bp-WTCBridge-casestudy.pdf.
10
Curriculum is available through the Curriculum Bank website: http://www.curriculumbank.org/curriculumbank/index.pl?iid=17645.
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